Tag: Metaphysical Monday

Sometimes, as Stephen King said, the most mind-boggling thing is size. Size conquers all. The sheer size of the known universe, for example, crushes the mind when you just consider it. As I think about the mysteries and wonders in creation, usually my mind turns to the insanely vast reaches of space. Recently, scientists discovered a galaxy that is much, much larger than any galaxy was expected to be capable of. The physical limits on the size of a galaxy that scientists previously held were horribly outdone by this newly discovered galaxy.… Continued →

Last weekend, my wife and I visited a Benedictine Priory. We were able to attend the nightly Compline service they had, which is a nightly music service meant for meditation and evening prayers to end the day of work in which the monks have labored. At the priory, my thoughts turned to Thomas Merton, one of my favorite authors.  I’ve made no secret of my affection for the writings of C.S. Lewis, and Merton is another in this line of spiritual thinkers that come from a different background than I do.  … Continued →

The issue of Transhumanity is of great interest to me and it’s something I’ve given a good amount of thought to over the past few years. The song “Artificial Immortality” is about this issue and my thoughts have changed since then (4 years ago). Transhumanity, shortened to h+, “is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.”… Continued →

*SPOILER ALERT* READ NO FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET! Well, now that some of us have seen The Dark Knight Rises, let’s look at what we’ve viewed. I have to say up front that the movie didn’t deliver like I expected it to. I hate to admit that some people were correct in having mediocre expectations. After 4 straight Christopher Nolan films that exceeded my absurd expectations, I just couldn’t imagine a scenario where I was let down. I had tempered my expectations and I knew from the beginning that this movie wouldn’t be as good as The Dark Knight.… Continued →

In a few short days, The Dark Knight Rises will open in theaters. This is an event that you are either 1) anticipating or 2) in need of a wake up call so you can anticipate it. … Continued →

This article will address several topics, so if you happen to be disinterested in the movie titled Moonrise Kingdom, be not afraid! But yes, first of all, Moonrise Kingdom was fantastic. I’ve written here before about my feelings on Wes Anderson movies. And I’m here to tell you that his new movie is his best yet. I went to see Moonrise Kingdom with my drummer Chris and bass player Codey. We had a blast as the movie made us laugh and as it wowed us with mesmerizing colors and superb, unique shots.… Continued →

Becoming The Archetype is on the road right now and I’m reminded of how much work every band on the road is going through. If you haven’t noticed, the nation is blazing hot right now. And if you didn’t already know, lots of bands our size and smaller frequently sleep in their vans for lack of other lodging accommodations. The result is a mixture of bad smells and zombie-like brains. The positive side is that if you enjoy sticking to the fake leather lining of the front seat, life has never been finer!… Continued →

Everyone needs a day/week off, I suppose.  So I’m writing this on my computer a couple hours before it goes live just to say I couldn’t find time the last week to write a new MM post.  Between touring and recording, an opportunity just hasn’t presented itself to create anything I feel compelled to write about. So enjoy a week off and read other good articles on IVM instead of MM.  I hope the summer is underway and already spectacular for you.  I hope July 4 is filled with lots of grilling out and fireworks.  … Continued →

You can file this one under the Classic Christian Albums heading for Metaphysical Monday.  Released in 1999, this album is second only to MxPx’s Life in General as far as Christian punk albums go (in my opinion).  While remaining fairly obscure in the underground, Blaster the Rocket Man created an album of incredible musical and lyrical excellence. The music of Blaster the Rocket Man was a mix of punk/horror punk and rockabilly.  It was eery and fast and fun.  Otto Bot’s voice had a giant dynamic range, swinging from a wolf-like growl on “I Like Lycanthropy” (fun fact: I once ordered 250 stickers with “Equal Rights for Werewolves” on them and sold them at the BTA merch table in honor of this song) to an almost Elvis-like croon on other songs.… Continued →

It seems like all the main brains in Christian theology right now are self-proclaimed Reformed guys.  Preachers and authors such as John Piper, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Francis Chan (sort of), Tim Keller, J.I. Packer, Mark Driscoll (also sort of), and David Platt are all either part of the Reformed tradition or are closely related to that family of theology. Reformed theology can be very controversial, but just to overview the basic emphasis, Reformed theology shoots to unite the modern church with the basic tenants of the Reformation.  … Continued →

Christianity has given the world a hefty volume of great authors and books.  Obviously, you’ve got the Holy Bible, which is by far the best-selling book in the world.  And outside of that, you’ve got a rich tradition of the Church producing excellent literature.  Some of it is philosophical, some of it is allegorical fiction, some of it is straight fiction (and sometimes even science fiction), some of it is poetry, some of it is revolutionary ideology aimed at the church and of course, some of it is theology.… Continued →

This article is about a touchy (and somewhat trendy) subject right now.  A lot of people are talking about the state of Christian festivals and I can perhaps shed some light on this subject. Christian festivals (and mainstream festivals as well, I assume) have been experiencing declining ticket sales for years.  Like every other part of the music industry, sales of units are caught in a nearly decade-long nosedive.  Bands feel the effects of this nosedive as their album sales decrease even thought they’re trying as hard as ever to make good music.  … Continued →

Monday is a magical (or muddled) day, so it’s fitting that Monday (today) is when Becoming The Archetype starts tracking drums for a new record.  Now, this isn’t a self-praising article meant to make you look at me.  But it is a celebration of new music being made, Mondays being awesome for once, and the joy of fresh sounds. New music isn’t easy.  Humans are creatures of habit and we get used to what we’ve already heard.  Every time you do something new, you’ve got to step out on a limb and risk ruining your reputation, your relationship with your fans (who are your fans because they like your previous material) and your perception of yourself.  … Continued →

There was a time when rap-rock ruled the world.  Although I don’t want those days to come back, there were some pretty sweet albums made during those years that I still enjoy.  I think the best of that genre/era was “The Fundamental Elements of Southtown” by P.O.D.  Since P.O.D. is still around, I assume we’re all familiar with who they are and what they do.  But when TFEOS came out in 1999, it shook up the Christian music scene in a huge way. The Christian underground was coming out with lots of great heavy bands at this time.  … Continued →

Next in our series of “Classic Christian Albums” is an MxPx masterpiece.  “Life in General” was the crowning achievement for Christian punk, in my humble (but very correct) opinion.  MxPx owns the title as kings of Christian punk and this album is their zenith. My earliest memories of anything related to MxPx were browsing through my local Christian Bookstore when I was only 13.  I had a pretty rad Christian Bookstore that would let you sample CDs in little listening booths with CD players.  They also had an aisle of the craziest assortment of uber-underground metal, hardcore, punk and ska CDs.  … Continued →

Ok, it’s time for another series, don’t you think?  This article is the first in a series of what I would call “Classic Christian Albums with an Incredible Message.” First up in this series is an album that for a long time I considered to be the best Christian metal album of all time.  Heck, I kinda still feel that way.  And that album is “Undeceived” by Extol.  I would assume that most IVM readers are at least somewhat familiar with Extol, but just for the fun of it, I’ll do a short recap on the band before I get into the beauty of the album.… Continued →

I live in the remote mountains of extreme north Georgia.  I grew up in Gainesville, GA which is about an hour north of Atlanta.  But now that I’ve got a family of my own, we’ve settled ourselves in a more rustic setting.  Our home is a cabin nestled between mountain peaks and beautiful valleys.  The peaks are the beginnings of the Appalachian Mountains and in fact, the Appalachian Trail starts just a few miles from our house.  It takes us 20 minutes to get to the grocery store and any sort of civilization.  … Continued →

This is the third and probably final installment of the current series:  Unsexy Biblical Principles.  This week we’ll look at a principle the Bible speaks clearly on, but that often goes unpracticed and untaught in Christian circles.  Listen to what Matthew 5:43-44 (NIV) says: ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you“ Those are the words of Jesus and they are not merely an encouragement:  they are a command.  … Continued →

Last week was the first article in a series of what I like to call the “Unsexy Biblical Principles.”  That article looked at the biblical principle of stewardship.  This week, we’ll look at a different biblical concept that may not be so popular currently in our churches:  Gluttony. Webster’s defines gluttony as “excessive eating and drinking,” which will be one aspect we’ll examine about gluttony.  But since this is a music site and since we’re all absolutely stoked on music, we’ll look at gluttony as it pertains to what we ingest artistically and more specifically, musically.… Continued →

One aspect of biblical Christianity that doesn’t get very much attention is the discipline of stewardship.  So today begins a series of MM articles on what I like to call “Unsexy Biblical Principles.” Stewardship is defined as “the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.”  With this definition, we can apply the concept of stewardship to almost all areas of life.  For instance, if you have skills at soccer, those skills were given to you originally by God and you are the steward of those skills.  … Continued →

The gospel can be seen as a great mystery, which man has difficulty comprehending.  Speaking of it in plain terms sometimes confuses a person more than telling the gospel by using symbols and allegory.  It seems strange to some of us, but if we are to see the gospel fleshed out in our daily lives, we must understand this and not give up on understanding more difficult or veiled truths. This is one reason, I believe, that Christ’s teachings were peppered with parables and His instructions veiled with the heavy use of symbolism.  … Continued →

So the O.C. Supertones are back together.  And Five Iron Frenzy just wowed the world by showing that they have more supportive fans than anyone else.  And I think somewhere, the Insyderz are doing something ska-related. What the heck? I considered ska my favorite music in early high school (1999-2002) and for most of that time, the Supertones were my favorite band.  Anyone who missed out on the pure magic of looking at the booklet for Supertones Strike Back has missed something fundamental to ska music.  … Continued →

Since the aim of this column is to explore that area where music and faith intersect, I figure it’s important to look at Scripture and see what Scripture says about music, both descriptively and prescriptively.  The Bible is replete with mentions of music, both in the Old Testament and New Testament.  A couple weeks ago we discussed King David’s rad harp playing (so brutal it exorcised a demon from Saul!) and some of the hymns of the early church in Acts.  Let’s go a little further, shall we?… Continued →

Music is a reflection of the character of God.  It shows us the various emotions that God has and the various attributes of God’s character.  When you listen to a Chopin etude, you can be amazed at the complexity of the human mind, which was fashioned in the image of God’s mind.  When you listen to the aggressive sounds of Demon Hunter, you can be reminded of God’s vengeance against sin or His jealousy for our praise.  When you listen to the soothing sounds of a Starflyer 59 song (perhaps No New Kinda Story), you can be reminded of God’s eternal peace and that nothing takes Him by surprise.… Continued →

Everyone reading this article that’s older than 8 years old will remember the zenith of cinema history that was Space Jam.  Regardless of your interest in sports, Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny and Bill Murray shook your very soul with this impeccable piece of movie-making.  One of the best aspects of the movie was the ultra-90s soundtrack, featuring Seal (covering Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle” in awesome fashion), R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” (which I still hear on the radio), Coolio and tons of other awesome 90s music stars with a decidedly different skin color than me.… Continued →

Last week, we looked at music on the mission field.  Now let’s look at the use of music in worship services everywhere. Music is used in every church service everywhere on earth.  I actually can’t recall a single church service I’ve been to (which numbers in the thousands) where songs weren’t utilized and meant to be sung together.  Isn’t that amazing?  In fact, music and the singing of songs seems like a fundamental necessity to corporate worship.  Why can’t churches worship our Father another way?  Why haven’t churches formed another way of communicating praise to their Creator?… Continued →

I’ve felt the call to be a missionary since I was a little kid.  Some might say that as a member of Becoming The Archetype, I am a type of missionary.  Those people wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but that’s not the sort of missionary I’ve been called to ultimately be.  A great blessing has been that God has also called my wife and brother to the mission field, so we’ve begun discussing possibilities for all going together.  Right now I’m in sort of a waiting game as my brother just started getting his Master’s of Divinity and my wife is getting her medical degree. … Continued →

“Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays” If you haven’t heard that phrase before, stop reading this and go watch Office Space.  If you have heard it, I hope your day so far isn’t nearly as dreadful as any of the characters’ in the movie.  So here’s your Metaphysical Monday to cheer you up! As we discussed and seemed to all agree last week, music has a profound spiritual significance.  That significance can be difficult to explain, but it’s not difficult to experience.  Why does music weigh so heavily on our souls? … Continued →